Woxidu

I decided not to take the escort bus home. Instead, I walked back from campus with slow, heavy, deliberate steps. It was 4 in the morning and I had just finished saying goodbye to one of my best friends. As I walked past the elements of the school and the city, I knew I was seeing many of these things for the last time. At the very least, I knew that the time was up for these things as critical features in my life. I passed familiar buildings, houses, trees, cars, (telephone poles…), hydrants, lawn decorations, flowers, and street lamps and said goodbye to all of them in my head. I felt their presence in my mind fade while I gently let go of my sense of urgency and embraced the transience looming over the place that was my home for five long years.

I’m done with Pittsburgh. I’m done with College. And even though it hurts so much to leave so many good people behind, I’m happy to be through. A fine five years you’ve given me, Carnegie Mellon. In many figurative and literal ways, you almost killed me. In many figurative and literal ways, whatever didn’t kill me just made me stronger. Thank you for the friendship, the love, the brotherhood, the happiness, and the excitement. Thank you equally for the trials, the pain, the mistakes, and the tragedies. My character has learned and grown from all of it.

So now, it’s time to remind people to email me on my gmail account instead of my school account. I’ve removed the Pittsburgh weather widget from dashboard, and removed the listing from my google homepage. I threw out my ΑΦΩ office key, and slid my student ID into a sleeve in my wallet. Goodbye Carnegie Mellon University; it’s over.